Alphy's Challenge (17 page)

“You’re freaks. You’re all different
shifters! Shifters should stay with their own kind!”

The shrill tone only added to his bear’s
resolve to end the shifter, and he bellowed out a roar of distaste of the sound.

Matteo untied the rope and slipped it off the
shifter. He stepped away on the shifter’s other side, keeping guard. As soon as
the ropes fell away, the other shifter tried to shift. Alphy decided to let him
finish before he charged. He always felt it was unjust and cowardly to attack
someone mid-shift. It was comparable to shooting someone in the back.

The shifter’s face elongated, and long,
delicate legs formed. Antlers poked through his head, but they were small.

 
When
the shifter was done,
Alphy’s
bear rushed forward and
barreled into the elk. He leaped up onto his hind legs as the shifter reared up
and tried to bash with his hooves, but it was too easy for Alphy to fall
forward and sink his giant maw into the neck of the elk, right below the jaw.
Alphy used his weight to ground the elk, while his massive paws held down the victim.
With huge claws sinking into the hide, he pulled back, ripping out the elk’s
throat.

After the elk went still,
Alphy’s
bear felt slightly mollified. Their mate was still in danger with the other two
enforcers and the alpha still running free.
Soon
,
he told his bear, they would finish their retribution soon.

He used his powerful jaws and bulky form to
maneuver the elk into the crumbling shack. While he and Slate changed forms and
dressed, Matteo set the shack on fire. They stood back and watched it burn for
a little
bit,
to make sure the fire wouldn’t spread.

Slate turned to Alphy. “Why don’t you two go
back? I’ll finish watching this for a little bit longer before I head back.”

“Thanks, Slate. I’ll have Nix bring you a
couple sandwiches.”

Slate placed his hand over his stomach. “Good,
I’m starved. I didn’t get enough breakfast.”

“Then you should have eaten more. There was
plenty.”

Slate looked a little sheepish. “Yeah, well,
I was going to wait until we came back or if it took too long, get something in
town.”

Alphy and Matteo both snorted. “I’ll send the
sandwiches.” He and Matteo turned and left.

Tom had returned and, as requested, was
waiting for Alphy in the barn. He was helping
Kace
clean out a stall creating a sort of a “holding cell”. The two humans on the
floor didn’t look angry—they looked frightened, and they smelled it, too. Alphy
shot
Kace
a questioning look.

He smiled and shrugged. “Didn’t know if
they’d been exposed or not, but when they got a bit too frisky, I shifted.”

Alphy raised one brow. “Well, if we had any
chance at letting them go before, there isn’t now.”

“Sorry, alpha.” His serious face looked so
unusual for
Kace
.

Alphy just gave a heavy sigh. “Don’t worry
about it. It still all falls on David.” Alphy looked over at a card table
filled with food. Matteo was already chowing down. “You two eaten?” he asked
Kace
and Tom.

Kace
nodded, but Tom shook his head. He looked
like he was about to get whipped. That didn’t sit well with his bear. The girls
hadn’t committed that big of an infraction to warrant this much fear. It
probably had something to do with their former alpha.

“And them?”
Alphy indicated the prisoners.

Kace
shook his head. “They’re a little bit too
upset at the moment.”

Alphy snickered. “I bet.” He turned to the
two men. Their faces were covered in dried blood and swollen in places. “Where’s
Seamus? I would have thought he would have cleaned these two up by now.”

Kace
answered with a grin. “He’s ‘gathering
supplies’.”
Kace
used his fingers to quote the air.
“I’m not helping him this time.”

Alphy was chuckling when he squatted down to
look eye level with the men. “You guys bit off more than you can chew. I have
no care for anyone who would harm women, let alone my family. If you survive
this, it would be a great time to make a career change.” There were so many
other things he wanted to tell them, but sometimes less was more. Alphy figured
they had enough to wrap their heads around, so he stood up and signaled for Tom
to follow him.

Tom didn’t hesitate to fall in behind Alphy.
Alphy waited until they were out in the sun and a little bit from the barn.
“Relax, Tom. I’m not that kind of alpha. I would take offense that you would
think so, if I didn’t know about your former alpha and what he put you and your
family through.”

They paused where they were. Alphy didn’t
want anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation. Tom nodded his head. “Thank you,
alpha.”

Alphy rubbed his hand over his face. “This
morning was a little bit my fault. I really should have been more specific. Did
you talk to Connie yet?”

Tom nodded but didn’t say anything more.

“And?” he asked. “Why did she think it would
be all right to leave without any protection?”

“They needed something, and when the rest of
us left, they weren’t asked if they had anything they needed from town.”

Alphy pondered that for a minute. “So this
wasn’t because they just wanted to go to town and look around or just
pointlessly shop? There was actually something they really needed?”

Tom nodded again.

Well
damn
, Alphy thought. It probably
could have been avoided if they were simply asked if they needed anything while
the others were in town. It was common sense and courtesy to ask, and at that time,
they hadn’t been. “Out of curiosity, what was it they thought they couldn’t
wait until the men got home?”

Tom pinked slightly. “Uh, pads.” Tom looked
horribly uncomfortable, and Alphy was confused.

“Pads?
Heating pads?
Nose pads?
Paper pads?”
Suddenly,
it struck him. “Oh, you mean…”

Tom suddenly nodded.
“Yeah,
that one.”

Alphy felt a bit guilty. Those were
important.

Tom rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t
know the twins had gotten into hers.”

Alphy’s
brows shot up to his hairline. “Well that
sounds like an interesting story. What did the cubs do with them?”

Tom’s lips twitched with an effort of
suppressing his humor. “They used them as roadways and railroad tracks. Connie
walked in on them when they were on the last two. She said they stuck them to
the floor and played like they paved the road, then ran their cars over them.”

Alphy chuckled. He saw Seamus nearing,
pushing a huge load on course for the barn, and started laughing. Then Alphy sobered
up enough to get back to the point of the matter. “Well,” he told Tom, “it
could very well have been avoided if we would have asked if they needed
anything. But they still need a little bit of discipline. This isn’t a normal
pack or sleuth or herd.”

He saw Tom tense and lose his spirit again.
Alphy was quick to reassure him.
“Nothing serious, Tom.
I realize I have to prove myself worthy of your trust after what you endured,
but please try.”

Tom nodded. “You know, before the attack,
Gale was very outgoing and friendly and generally happy. She and her brother
worked, and yet maintained healthy grades and still managed to coordinate their
schedules so one of them was always home helping to take care of the twins and
had supper on the table when their mother and I got home. She’s not your
typical teen. She’s been through too much to be. She watched her brother get
beaten, did she tell you that?”

Alphy shook his head. Gale hadn’t really told
him anything about herself. They really hadn’t had that much time, and they
hadn’t had the time to get this deep.

“One of the enforcers held her back while the
other two…” Tom was staring down at the ground. Alphy placed a reassuring hand
on his shoulder. This seemed to help Tom collect himself. He still couldn’t
look Alphy in the eyes, but he stood stronger. “She just needs time to heal,
something she didn’t get when we were on the run.”
  

Alphy rubbed his chin and looked around. “So
what chore could we get them to do that would drive home our point?”

Tom looked thoughtful for a moment. He
enjoyed seeing a smile creep across Tom’s face. Tom nodded his head in the
direction of the barn. “They could take turns being the doctor’s assistant.”

Alphy thought about for a second before he
lightly laughed, and he slapped Tom on the shoulder. “You know, that is a great
idea. Let’s go tell them their fate. Who do you suppose should take the first
shift?”

Alphy and Tom discussed a few details then
headed back to the house. He could tell the elk shifter was relieved that the
punishment wasn’t serious, and he was also probably pleased that Alphy had
listened to his suggestions.

When they entered the house, he let Tom break
the news to Connie and
Alphy’s
wayward sister, while Alphy
headed upstairs to talk to his mate.
 
Gale
was sitting on the bed with her knees up under her chin and her arms hugging
around her legs.

He walked over to her and leaned down to kiss
her on the top of her head. She flinched a little and he could smell how uneasy
she was, but she didn’t move away. He felt that was a good sign. After talking
with Tom, he could more easily see how these last few weeks had truly affected
her. She was having just a bit of a rough time getting back to her old self. It
didn’t help that they were still in danger, which hindered their recovery of
their normal stable lives. That was why she had these extreme mood swings. He
needed to figure out how to give her feet solid ground so she could stand on
her own again.

“Hey, honey-bear, you
feeling better?”

She just shrugged a shoulder in response.
Alphy sat down on the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t
resist and rested her head on his shoulder while he rubbed circles in the arch
of her back.

“I did mention things would undoubtedly get
worse before they get better, remember?” he said.

She kept her head rested against his shoulder,
but she still managed to nod. Alphy kissed her on the head again.

“We just need to stick together.”

He heard her start to sniffle, and he scented
guilt and sadness.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she said. “You would have
thought after these last few weeks I would have been more careful. This is my
fault. I should have told them that we should get you, and I’ll take full blame
and whatever punishment you see fit. So what happens now?”

Alphy felt a swell of pride warm his heart.
His mate was going to make a perfect alpha mate. No one was flawless, and even
the most experienced could make rookie mistakes. But she was willing to accept
her role and even take the blame off the others. She may be a little broken
right now, but she was going to grow into a strong and much loved alpha mate.
He gave her a reassuring squeeze and pulled back so he could look into her
face. He wiped her tears away.

“Nothing dire.
You girls have already been through enough
today, and some of that blame rests on me. I should have known to be more
specific. I’ve already talked to Tom, so I know why you girls left, and though
it was still wrong, it was understandable. We already discussed punishment. You,
your mom, and my sister are going to be Dr. Rossi’s assistants for one shift.
That’s all, nothing dire.”

Gale snorted. “Oh
poopsy
,
he is always dire. I swear that man is OCD.”

Alphy laughed at Gale’s quip. He grew serious
and leaned in and rested his forehead against hers and closed her eyes while he
took in her pleasant honey and wild berry scent. “I’m just ecstatic you’re ok.
I can’t even begin to express to you how scared you made me and my bear today.”

“Your bear is separate from you?”

“No.” Alphy pulled back so he could see her
as he spoke. “We are the same, but some of my baser instincts come from him and
I can feel myself battling those instincts at times. When we shift, we give
ourselves over to that instinct, and it shifts us into our animals. Once we are
in our animal form, we maintain a stronger animal instinct, but our mind and
consciousness are still the same.”

“I know Tom is still very gentle when he shifts,
but he isn’t a predator shifter. Would you hurt me if you were in your bear
form?”

“Never.”
He answered immediately and confidently. “I
said my instinct is stronger in bear form. You are our mate and other half, and
my bear is as much in love with you as I am. I could never even want to hurt
you, and to do so would be a stronger hurt to myself.”

“You love me?” Her voice went soft and
breathy.